Scandinavian Christmas in Finland

Finland is a small Scandinavian country in northern Europe. It is a land of many traditions, situated on the Baltic sea and influenced by the neighboring countries of Sweden, Russia, Estonia, and Norway.

Families in Finland celebrate the Christmas holiday a little different than families in countries on the western end of the world. One of the most apparent differences between the celebration of Christmas in Finland and the celebration of Christmas in other cultures is that in Finland the Christmas Tree is felled and set up on Christmas Eve, the 24th of December, while in other cultures the Christmas tree may be erected as far as an entire month in advance. The children of the family normally decorate the tree with apples, candy, cookies, ornaments, tinsel, and Finnish flags, and candles (or Christmas lights).

Just as in Sweden, the people of Finland have adopted St. Lucia's day, December 13. On St. Lucia's day, the eldest daughter of the family dresses in a white robe with a sash, and a head wreath with candles around it. Clothed as such, she distributes breakfast rolls and coffee in bed. All of this is done in honor of the old Saint Lucia who was said to have delivered food to Christians during the time of their greatest persecution, her way lit only by a few candles. Saint Lucia was later executed for her valiant acts. By popular vote, the people elect a national St. Lucia from a selection of several young teenage girls, who lead the nation in their national St. Lucia's day programs such as pageants, carols, etc.

On Christmas day, most local store owners lock up their shops at noon, so of course the Finnish people must get their shopping done on time! At this time, the "Peace of Christmas" is proclaimed, which means the Christmas holiday is officially in effect. In the early evening, Finnish families make a trip to the graveyard where they place candles on the grave markers of their loved ones, and mourn for them.

After all of this is said and done, the Christmas celebration begins.
The Finnish version of Santa Claus, Joulupukki (which roughly translates into Christmas Goat) is a jolly old man dressed in a red suit, similar to the jolly old version of Saint Nick. That is pretty much where their similarities end. While there are a lot of similarities between the Finnish and American version of Santa (minus the walking stick that Joulupukki is said to use), such as the reindeer team led by legendary Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the fact that he travels in a sleigh, Joulupukki's reindeer do not fly! Also, while he does travel from home to home to give gifts to the "good" children of the world, rather than popping in and out of chimneys in the middle of the night Joulupukki is said to knock on the door during the family's Christmas celebration.

According to the legend, upon entrance into the family home he says, "Onko täällä kilttejä lapsia?" which roughly translates into the question of whether or not there are any well-behaved children in the home. Of course since Joulupukki is merely a Christmas myth, normally a male family member or friend of the family will sneak out of the house to knock on the door and present the anxious, elated Finnish children with their gifts as a reward for model behavior during the year. After giving out his gifts, Joulupukki "departs" and returns to his toy workshop in Lapland, Finland (no, not the North Pole) for another year.